Phillies claim outfielder Óscar Mercado off waivers from Cleveland

Three years ago, Óscar Mercado appeared to be the center fielder of the future in Cleveland.

He will now try to revive his career with the Phillies.

In need of outfield depth after Bryce Harper broke his left thumb, the Phillies claimed Mercado off waivers Monday, a few days after the Guardians designated him for assignment. They intend to add him to the active roster once he reports to the team.

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Mercado, 27, is batting .202 with four homers and a .604 on-base plus slugging in 114 at-bats this season. But he’s regarded as an above-average defensive center fielder. He’s a right-handed hitter, so it’s conceivable that he plays his way into a platoon with lefty-swinging Odúbel Herrera.

Interim manager Rob Thomson said Sunday that Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber will get the most at-bats in the designated-hitter role vacated by Harper. That would seemingly push Matt Vierling and maybe Mickey Moniak into a righty-lefty platoon in right field or left.

Mercado burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2019, batting .269 with 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in 115 games for Cleveland. But he’s a .198 hitter with a total of 11 homers since 2020 and slipped behind Myles Straw, Steven Kwan, and others on the Guardians’ depth chart.

The Phillies won’t make a move to get Mercado on the roster until he joins the team. They open a three-game series Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves, the first half of a pivotal six-game homestand. The St. Louis Cardinals come to town over the weekend.

To open a 40-man roster spot for Mercado, the Phillies called up lefty reliever Damon Jones and placed him on the 60-day injured list. Jones hasn’t pitched since May 19 because of a left shoulder impingement.

» READ MORE: Inside the Phillies' turnaround: Was it as simple as changing the manager?

Harper continues to lead National League designated hitters in All-Star balloting with 1,740,935 votes, ranking third among NL players behind Mookie Betts (2,270,566) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2,197,684). No other Phillies player in running better than sixth place at any position. ... Zack Wheeler (6-4, 2.77 ERA) will start the series opener Tuesday night against Braves right-hander Charlie Morton (4-3, 4.84). Since he joined the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler has a 1.87 ERA in eight starts against the Braves.